Re: Balance question?Berta Rotary/853

Hi again Bill!

Looking at the 2 videos again, and at the way the dirt is thrown, and especially noticing the position of the rollers keeping the belts tightened, indicates to me that the Kreiselpflug is rotating clockwise just like the Berta rotary plow. One might be in doubt looking at the videos, but I guess that is an optical illusion caused by the video camera.

The Kreiselpflug might have been ahead of its time, but it might also simply have been an "overdesigned" and complicated plow, compared to a more conventional one.

I have no hands-on experience with the Kreiselpflug myself, but having studied the information I have been able to find in German, seems to indicate that it had a few advantages and maybe even more disadvantages, making it the right tool for very few, but not for the majority of potential users.

Some advantages are:

- Plowing and tilling in one operation
- Needs lees traction from the tractor
- Seed bed ready in one pass
- Works well on light and sandy soil

Some disadvantages are:

- Less acres per hour for the invested horse power
- Needs more horse power in total than a conventional plow (min. 75 HP for the 2-furrow version)
- An uneven "tilling" that later leads to stripes in the field
- No major advantages to other PTO-driven attachments, like say tillers
- Risk of over-pulverizing the soil
- Difficulties powering the 3th drum
- Difficulties working in heavy clayey soil
- More expensive than a conventional plow
- No reversible version available
- Sensitive to rocks and stones
- Low working speed

As on a conventional plow, the Kreiselpflug has a plowshare but only a very short moldboard, just able to lift the soil, but not able to turn it over like a conventional moldboard does. After the lifted soil leaves the moldboard, it is then crumbled by the evolving drum and thrown to the right. A sort of a conventional plow combined with a vertical tiller!

You might be right, that mowing the stationary plow section forward would prevent larger stones from getting jammed, but that would probably compromise the whole idea of the plow, as the drum needs to follow close behind the moldboard to till the soil while it is lifted. I have the feeling, that the problem rather was caused by smaller stones that got trapped between the "wings" on the drum itself.

Perhaps the Kreiselpflug was simply a plow trying to answer a question never asked?

Re: Balance question?Berta Rotary/853

Getting back to the original question of balance of the single Berta rotary plow on an 853 diesel, the unit really needs the 3" PTO extension in addition to the quick hitch coupling. The 853 has long enough handlebars to keep the plow a safe distance from your feet. It will be much more stable in the ground and not try to leap when hitting a big rock. But again run the engine slowly in very rocky soils. I saw pictures of 3 destroyed Berta rotary plow transmissions at the NOFA-NY winter conference last week. Slow down when the ground is rocky!

Re: Balance question?Berta Rotary/853

Hi BCS shop,
I'm thinking of purchasing a power safe 740, (equivalent to your 853) to work with the single Berta rotary plough. It seems that the plough weighs about the same as the tiller that comes with the 740. Can you explain why I would require the extension or extra coupling?

Re: Balance question?Berta Rotary/853

Hello JoeyVegies,
I haven't been a part of the tractorbynet community for some time so I have not been responding to questions. There is sometime about being busier than I have even been in my life at the same time as being older than I have even been.

The question I was addressing was the use of the Berta Rotary plow with the diesel powered BCS tractors. The heavier diesel engine creates a forward balance to the machine that makes rear mounted attachments seem too light in weight. This is countered by adding extension between the tractor and the attachment. Both the BCS 853 and the new 740/749 have the same longer handlebar making the extension to the PTO safe to use as well as a benefit to it operation on the diesel models. No extension is required or desired (in my opinion) when operating with the gas engine models.